Reflections on Independence

July 2 marks the actual day in 1776 that America declared its independence from Great Britain. Coincidentally, today is also a personal independence day for me: my marriage officially dissolved. This made me think about the different ways we look at independence...as individuals as well as countries.

Americans celebrate July 4th every year. It has great meaning for the history of the United States. If we look at our independence in the context of now without taking away from its historical importance, what does it even mean to call ourselves an independent country; because today, we are not independent.

Through many decades, the world has changed drastically. Relationships among countries and regions have altered significantly---we are all intertwined and rely on one another through economics, resources and geopolitical associations.

For example, we now know that an oil spill in one location effects another area; that a hurricane or earthquake knows no geographic boundaries; that our air, earth and water "depend" on all of us, on our responsibility to each other and to future generations.

So, in regards to our Western individual autonomy, we take our freedoms very seriously. But as we desire more personal independence, our communities are eroding and our civility towards each other is diminishing. Some would argue that the actual independence we so dearly love that skews so heavily to the individual, is what we are already losing since the world really is interdependent.

Like America's relationship with Great Britain, a declaration of independence, does not mean a severed tie but a different relationship. Those of us who are divorced never really separate from our partners because of a shared history.

I was given a new independence today. I find myself ecstatic that the reality is an interdependent journey--starting at forever and ending at never. Happy Interdependence Day.